September 4, 2001 -- "The Animal" is about what you'd expect from the star and creators of "Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo." This is a production of Adam Sandler's Happy Madison company. Star Rob Schneider, who also starred in "Deuce Bigalow," appeared in Sandler's movie "The Waterboy" as a "townie." Sandler appears in "The Animal" billed as a "townie" saying some of the same lines that Schneider did in "The Waterboy."

Schneider's mother, Pilar, also appears in the film as Mrs. De La Rosa. Schneider is also a producer of the movie and he co-wrote the script. Sounds like a cozy little family production, or maybe it is more like a movie made by a fraternity at a film school. It uses the tried and true Sandler formula: make a low-budget comedy about a societal outcast who ultimately redeems himself, and then wait for the cash to roll in. The film's budget is $22 million, very low by today's standards, and it will probably make in excess of $60 million. It isn't a good movie, but it sure is good business.

Schneider stars as Marvin, a wannabe cop working as a clerk in the evidence room of a small police department. We get the usual humiliation humor as the inept Marvin is whacked by an aged powerwalker, pees his pants, is attacked by dogs, turned down by women, and generally made the butt of a number of cruel jokes. Injured in a car crash, Marvin is put back together, with some spare animal parts, by mad scientist Dr. Wilder (John C. McGinley of "Get Carter"). He soon discovers that he has the sense of smell of a dog, the speed of a racehorse and can swim like a dolphin. He also has some pretty strange sexual urges regarding goats. Marvin uses his amazing powers to fight crime.

The story enters a potentially interesting area when it starts to explore the idea of man overcoming his animal urges, a key element in Nietzschean philosophy. The story fails to follow up on the notion, however, and ends up celebrating the animal in all of us. That is consistent with the neo-pagan romantic view of nature as being perfect. It is also consistent with the view that other animals should have equal stature with humans. These conflicting viewpoints battle throughout the movie without resolution. But, as one critic put it, these kinds of films are not meant to stimulate real thought, but rather the Three Stooges area of the brain.

Schneider does a good job. He is surprisingly good at physical comedy in a very demanding role, but he's no Jim Carrey. Former "Survivor" cast member Colleen Haskell does O.K. as a non-actor. She plays Schneider's love interest. John C. McGinley of "Get Carter" is effective as the mean, tightly-wound police Sgt. Sisk. There are a number of running gags through the film, including references to "Frankenstein." In one scene, a mob of angry villagers, complete with patio torches, gather to stalk the monster. One of the mob members, comedian Norm Macdonald, asks if it is O.K. to have his torch lit, even though it isn't dark yet. There's also a running gag with a black police officer (played by Guy Torry) who complains about reverse discrimination caused by white guilt.

I did laugh in the early parts of the film, but it seemed to lose momentum as it went along. The story seemed to have too much sadness in it to be effective as a comedy. Schneider had this (pardon the pun) hangdog look on his face most of the time. It seemed to me there isn't enough joy in the film, although Macdonald and Sandler were certainly having a good time with their bit parts. The comic timing also seemed off. The sight gag payoffs seemed a beat slow, as well as being too shallow and too obvious. This could have and should have been a much funnier film. It rates a C-.

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